Cyrus and his companions were on the very outskirts of the Tall Plains.
They had flown relatively east ever since they left their first camping site. Cyrus wanted to cover as much ground as they could, but Wraith insisted on covering their tracks. The group flew over the jungle in disguises during the day, in case anybody saw them. They stayed within a reasonable distance of the main road to keep track of their journey, and camped during the night beneath the trees.
Cyrus had little time to enjoy his surroundings as they flew along. Sure, he knew what his mission was, but the plains still looked so beautiful from so high in the sky. He was often kept distracted by either Wraith's shouting or Tina's teasing. She'd frequently nip and scratch at him from behind and the sides.
"Tina, stop." Cyrus flapped to fly away from her as she came at his tail.
"Tag, you're it!" Tina shoved him to the side with a chuckle.
"Tina, behave yourself." Lilith scolded from below her.
"Sorry, mom..."
Wraith carried most of the supplies with him. Lilith had offered him some help, but he declined.
"These supplies aren't as heavy as you would expect." Wraith said as he flew over the treetops at the front. Two large bundles tied in string floated through the air on either side of him, just behind his flapping wings.
"Is that so?" Lilith asked curiously. "They seem very heavy to me."
"Look closely." Wraith motioned towards the bundles. "I'm using my own special brand of magic to alter the weight of the items, keeping them in a miniature 'orbit' around my body. Cyrus, are you paying attention?"
"Yeah, I guess." Cyrus shrugged as he flew nearby.
"That still doesn't explain why you don't just let me hold onto a few of them." Lilith said. "I'm more than capable of carrying one of those on my back."
"The farther an object is from me, the harder it is to sustain their altered gravity. Even if it's a very short distance, I'd prefer to save as much of my magic as possible. We're currently in need of more red gems."
"And here I thought you were trying to be a gentleman." Tina snickered.
"Or maybe he's trying to be macho!" Cyrus chuckled.
Wraith rolled his eyes. "Hush up back there."
There wasn't much talking in the sky after that. It was either flying in the sky in silence, or stopping for a quick rest in silence. They had even put a stop to the magic lessons while on the ground. Cyrus didn't mind that as much; he was already a born natural at the dark elements. Any other training just seemed redundant to him. But Wraith was always on Cyrus's case about flaunting his talent. It was such a relief to finally get a break from the bickering.
As the sun set over the horizon for the fourth time, Wraith decided to come to a landing in a clearing in the jungle canopy. Cyrus and the others followed suit. The clearing was rather small; just big enough for the four of them to hide within the thick walls of jungle trees. The sky was a deep shade of blue, and not a cloud was in the sky. As he came to a landing, Cyrus could hear owls hooting and crickets chirping.
Cyrus watched Wraith as he groggily rested his paws on the grass. The two bundles slammed HARD on the ground, shaking it beneath his feet. Wraith collapsed with a sigh as the pressure of keeping up his magic disappeared.
"Ahh..." Wraith sighed, his tail wagging. "That feels niiiiice..." Tina laughed as she came to a landing. She ran up to the crimson drake and leaped over him. He hissed. "Watch it!"
"Getting sleepy, Wraith?" Tina asked, her head tilted with a cheeky smirk.
"Yes. Yes I am." Wraith rolled over to face away from her. "Go bother your mother, kid."
Lilith gently landed on the grass and nudged one of the bundles with her nuzzle. "I suppose I'll set up the tents tonight, then."
"Yeah, sure, whatever..." Wraith stretched out his limbs and rolled over again. He twisted his neck back and forth, making it snap. Cyrus grimaced at the noise. Wraith gave another yawn. "I'm going to sleep, and I don't care if its' on a pile of dirt. Goodnight."
"Are you sure about that, Wraith?" Lilith asked as she untied the bundle.
"YES." Wraith snapped. He looked over at Cyrus with one eye. "And as for you, don't get any ideas while I'm out cold."
"What makes you think I'd do anything?" Cyrus sneered. "There's nothing TO do!"
"Yeah, I really believe you..." Wraith rolled his eyes and tucked his head under his wing. In no time, he was snoring his way to dreamland.
Cyrus rolled his eyes and looked around the clearing. Lilith had gotten to work setting up the tents for herself and the younglings. Tina helped her mother out with the tarps and the poles. Cyrus merely turned around and looked up at the stars.
Cyrus fell back onto the grass as his eyes watered at the endless beauty of the night sky. There were so many of them up there. They glowed like fireflies lost in an abyss. The brightest of the stars formed the constellation of a great and mighty dragon. That dragon in the sky was always there to guide him to sleep when he needed it. Would he ever meet this dragon in the real world someday?
"Hey, runt!" Tina shouted. Cyrus blinked and looked over in her direction. "You could help us out, you know."
"I would, but..." Cyrus stammered, wiping his eyes. "But it doesn't seem like you need it. I'll just wait over here and sit quietly."
Tina groaned. She put down the poles and glared at the prince. "If you don't help, you'll have to sleep out in the open!"
"What?!" Cyrus protested. He sprung onto all fours. "Why?!"
"You can't just sit on your rear while the rest of us work, Cyrus." Tina scolded. "You have to earn your place to sleep, or you don't get one."
"Says who?!" Cyrus spat.
"I say so, my prince." Lilith said with a glare. She several steps towards Cyrus, making him shudder and fall back. "It's only fair that you help us out."
"But Wraith isn't doing anything, either!" Cyrus snapped. "Why are aren't you making him help too?!"
"That's because he's gone through the trouble of carrying all of the supplies for us the whole way." Lilith said. She motioned towards Wraith with a wing. "Look how tired he is! And on top of that, he's already decided he wants to sleep under the stars. As for you, Prince Cyrus, you can either help us with these tents, or you don't get one."
Cyrus glared up at Lilith indignantly. But she just glared back with extreme force, making him fall back again. A shudder ran through his body.
"Alright, alright..." Cyrus bent his head low and stood up. "You win, Lilith. I'll help out."
Lilith nodded her head. "Good. You can start with the sheets..."
Cyrus didn't say anything out loud as he helped the dragonesses prepare the tents. But that didn't stop him from complaining about it under his breath the whole time. He tried his best to keep them from hearing, but he couldn't help but shiver whenever he felt Lilith's watchful eyes on his back.
Eventually, two large tents were finally set up and ready for use. Cyrus took a deep breath and wiped off his brow.
"There. Am I done now?" Cyrus asked. He intentionally avoided making eye contact with Lilith.
"Yes, I suppose you're finished." The dragoness nodded. "You may sleep inside the tent, my prince."
"Gee, thanks." Cyrus walked into the tent with his head bent low. Tina followed after him and dashed off to the side. She curled up into a ball and purred in delight as she got comfortable. Cyrus just sat down on the other side. He heard Lilith approach the entry flap, so he looked away from her and at the wall.
"Oh, your highness, don't be like that." Lilith said. "There's no shame in doing manual labor."
Cyrus harrumphed and shrugged his shoulders. Lilith sighed and rolled her eyes.
"You really need to learn some humility, Prince Cyrus. Your father wouldn't approve of your behavior."
Cyrus dug his talons into the fabric at the mention of his father. His body shook with anger.
"Of course he wouldn't approve." Cyrus said under his breath. "He never approves of anything I say or do..."
"Excuse me?" Lilith stepped a bit closer. Her shadow fell over the prince. He sniffled, but refused to look at her.
"Father never takes the time to see what I'm saying or doing!" Cyrus's eyes watered as he shouted. "I'm still amazed he even noticed I ran away at all! It's not like he's ever acknowledged that I exist!"
"Oh, come now." Lilith said. She sat down beside Cyrus and draped a wing over his back. Cyrus flinched away for a moment, but she ignored it. "Cyrus, that's not true."
"Think about it, Lilith!" Cyrus exclaimed. "By the time Father found out I was gone, I was already on the doorstep of Mount Erebus! I'll bet he was the last one to know! He always has his muzzle shoved into those stupid old books of his!"
"Cyrus..." Tina spoke quietly. Cyrus wiped his eyes and looked over at her. Her usual grin was gone, replaced by what he hopes was an empathetic frown. She cleared her throat and stepped up to him. "Cy, are you okay?"
"I..." Cyrus stammered. His anger was caught in his throat. "I'm..."
"Tina, dear..." Lilith lowered her head down to her daughter and frowned. "I appreciate you trying to help, but I think it's for the best that you just go lay down. Okay?"
"Alright, Mom." Tina bowed her head. She looked down at Cyrus sadly before returning to the other side of the tent. Lilith returned her attention to the prince and pulled him closer to her with her wing.
"My prince, you're being too hard on your father." She said sweetly.
"But..." Cyrus felt his eyes watering again. "He never pays attention to me anymore. No matter what I do, no matter how much trouble I cause, no matter how good I get with my magic..." His voice nearly cracked. "He never spends so much as two minutes in the same room as me." Cyrus felt his throat choke up. He collapsed onto the floor, covering his eyes with his paws. "He doesn't care about me."
"Oh, you silly boy..." Lilith said gently. "All fathers care about their sons. And yours is no exception. If he didn't care about you, then wide did he send so many of the Deep Shadows out into the world to find you?"
Cyrus couldn't come up with an answer. Lilith sighed, but kept talking.
"It's a dangerous world out here, my prince. The Order of Culmubrae is out there, and if they knew that a black dragon prince was wandering about the world, they'd stop at nothing to kill you. We were sent out to protect you and bring you back home. He loves you, Cyrus. Don't you see?"
Cyrus shut his eyes tight. He was trying to think about what he should say to her. He was happy that Lilith was trying to make him feel better. But he just couldn't rationalize what his father has done up until this point.
"Lilith..." Cyrus moved to stand up and look her in the eyes. She smiled, hoping that she'd cheered him up. "Th-thank you for everything you've said. But I just wish you were around before Mom died. Father was barely ever around when my brother and I were little. But after what happened, he..."
Cyrus froze. He trembled as the memories of the tragedy flooded through his mind. He stepped back several spaces, causing Lilith to gasp.
"Cy!" Tina shouted. She dashed over and helped keep Cyrus from toppling over. "Cyrus, are you okay?"
"I-I'm fine..." He stammered. Tina was unconvinced, so she curled up in a ball beside him. Lilith seemed just as worried about him. Cyrus took a deep breath, just like he was taught at home. "A-As I was saying, after my family... died, Father was never the same. He was always shutting himself away in his study. He never talks about grandpa or my brother. It makes me think that he... pretends he never had children."
Lilith shook her head and draped a wing over him again. "Don't think like that. I may not have been around the king all this time, but I'm sure he had his reasons." She glanced outside at the night sky. She shut her eyes and sighed. "Another night has come. That means we have one less night to act..."
"We have to find the right dragons to help us." Cyrus said. "We're running out of time before the Night of Eternal Darkness. Mother's the only dragon that Father will listen to."
"My prince, I don't think we need to rush ourselves."
"Wh-What?" Cyrus stammered.
"What do you mean, Mom?" Tina asked.
Lilith looked back forwards and took a deep breath. She seemed to be muttering to herself, trying to decide what to say. Finally, she opened her eyes and looked down at the younglings.
"My prince, what I think you need to do is talk to your father about how you feel. Once he hears how you feel, I'm sure he'll understand and reconcile with you."
"But what about going to Warfang?" Cyrus asked. "We need to-"
"I think that your plan may endanger your life." Lilith said. "You'd be much safer if you returned home."
"No!" Cyrus exclaimed. He frantically sprung up onto his feet. "Don't force me to give up! I need to bring mother back! She's the only one that can stop him!"
"Prince Cyrus..." She looked down at him. "I'm only stating my opinion. It's ultimately Wraith's decision, but I strongly feel that you need to go back where you're safe."
"But..." Cyrus's eyes teared up again.
Lilith sighed. She slowly turned around to leave the tent. She glanced back at him with a worried look. "Please, just think on what I've said before you go to sleep. I only want what's best for you, my prince."
"Oh... Okay." Cyrus nodded yes. He hoped that if he agreed to that, she wouldn't get mad and force him to go home.
Lilith left the tent, and then turned around to poke her head in one last time. "Goodnight, little ones."
"Goodnight, Mom." Tina called.
"Night... Lilith..." Cyrus said quietly. Lilith then left the younglings' tent to go into her own tent.
Cyrus lay in the tent for a while, letting time melt away. The air was filled with the sounds of owls, crickets, and Wraith's horribly-loud snoring.
"Cy, are you going to be okay?" Tina whispered.
Cyrus leaned his head towards her and frowned. "I guess so..."
"Good." She smirked. "Get some sleep, Runt! You'll need all the rest you can get for when I wrestle you to the ground!"
Cyrus chuckled under his breath. "Thanks, Tina. See you in the morning."
"Night, Runt!" Tina curled up in a ball. She was fast asleep shortly afterwards.
Cyrus just rested his head and closed his eyes. As he drifted to sleep, Lilith's words repeated in his head. He tried to believe that what she said was the truth. But just as he slipped into the dream world, his thoughts turned to his father...
~~...~~
It all started over a month ago.
Cyrus was smacked to the ground by one of the stone golems. Several of its smaller companions surrounded him on either side.
"Get up, Prince Cyrus!" A dragon in his mid-fifties shouted from across the arena. "You would let this scrubs defeat you?!'
Cyrus quickly stood up, gasping for breath. he had little time to dodge away as another club came smashing down at him. The prince leaped over and under the other golems to avoid their attacks.
The combat arena was rather small; it was the best the dark dragons could do to conserve space yet still keep enough room for training. Few decorations decorated the stone walls, save for lit torches. Only two gates led in and out of the arena. The most prominent feature of the arena was a statue of an elderly black dragoness; their matron Cynder.
Cyrus had been training in this arena for roughly six years, ever since the remnants of his people went deep into hiding.
The large dragon growled, his paws slamming into the ground. "Stop dodging away and FIGHT! You'll never unlock your full potential like THAT!"
"S-Sorry, Sir Grail!" Cyrus shouted as he slid to a stop.
Grail was a Fear dragon, and he earned that name. He was incredibly tall and muscular, and had the strength to rival the strongest earth dragon. His hide was a deep shade of blood red, though most of his body was covered in the dark cloth of the Deep Shadows. Five thick horns crowned his head, around a short-trimmed black mane. His right eye was dark green. He lost his other eye during the Twilight War. A long red scar stretched across the left side of his face where the eye should have been.
Cyrus winced under the scrutinizing gaze of Grail's single eye. Cyrus dodged left and right to avoid the onslaught of the stone golems. He was trying to find an opening to use his newly acquired fear element. But unfortunately it was as if the magic of fear was used on him instead! Cyrus just couldn't work up the nerve to try attacking the golems. Just a few minutes ago they were just boulders on the ground. But Grail used some of his dark energy to infuse them with "life" to attack!
"What did I say about not attacking?!" Grail shouted.
"Sorry!" Cyrus exclaimed, ducking an axe blow.
While Cyrus was "training", he heard a portal of darkness open up on the far wall. Wraith stepped through it and stood beside Grail. It was comical seeing such a slender dragon standing beside a mountain with feet.
"How are you doing, my prince?" Wraith asked.
"F-Fine?" Cyrus said dubiously, still rushing about.
"Don't distract him." Grail's eye bore angrily into Wraith's features.
"I'm just here to observe." Wraith shrugged.
"You can observe with your trap SHUT, Junior." Grail snapped. Wraith merely rolled his eyes and stepped a short distance away.
Cyrus was steadily getting tired from all the running from the golems. He finally came to a stop on the far end of the arena. As the three golems were charging towards him, the prince inhaled a great big puff of air. He repeated the phrase he read just the other day. Cyrus shut his eyes and opened his maw wide. From his throat burst forth a series of red rays; the Siren Scream. A high-pitched wail accompanied the rays as they impaled all three of the golems. The magic forced them to slow their movements, until they couldn't move at all. Once his opponents were frozen, Cyrus rushed forth and swung his claws at them. His claws did little more than scratch their chests before the Siren Scream lost its effect. Cyrus was back to dodging away soon enough.
Grail groaned and shook his head. "You'll have to do better than THAT, prince! Your enemies would laugh at you after such a display!"
"I'm doing my best!" Cyrus protested.
"Do BETTER than your best!" Grail snapped.
Wraith cleared his throat. "Grail, do you mind if I give our prince some advice?"
Grail rolled his eye. "Fine. But make it quick, draken."
"No need for that language." Wraith harrumphed. He addressed the prince. "Your Highness, how using some other magic instead of just running away all the time?"
Cyrus ran to another end of the arena. "Grail didn't say I could do that!"
"Did he say you couldn't?" Wraith raised an eye ridge.
"Well..." Cyrus slowed to a stop, blinking. "No."
Grail snorted and looked away. "So you're encouraging him to blatantly ignore the point of this exercise?"
"The point is to teach him to think outside the box." Wraith replied. "You yourself once said that there are no rules on the battlefield."
"Very well." Grail turned around and walked towards the northern gate. "You take over, then. I need a drink."
Cyrus watched awkwardly as Grail shoved Wraith to the side to leave. As the muscular drake was leaving, Albanion and Elza passed right by him. Cyrus sighed in relief; his was always happy to see his aunt and uncle. But before Cyrus could take one step towards them or say a single word of affection, a golem smacked him in the side and sent him flying across the arena.
"Cyrus!" Elza exclaimed. She moved to rush forwards, but Wraith teleported in front of her.
"Stop." He said. "We need the prince to get this right on his own."
Elza scowled. "But he's fighting three golems! GOLEMS! Whose bright idea was that?!"
"Please direct your anger to our one-eyed friend." Wraith grimaced. "I just got here a moment ago."
Albanion glared after Grail for a moment, but then sighed and turned towards the prince. "Let's focus our energy on rooting for our prince."
"Good thinking." Wraith nodded. He turned towards Cyrus. "You hear that, prince? Use some magic to get yourself out of this scrap!"
"Alright..." Cyrus nodded.
"But no teleporting away." Albanion quickly added.
"Ahh..." Cyrus pouted.
The prince ran into yet another corner of the arena, trying to concentrate. The three golems were quickly gaining on him, their axes and clubs held high. Cyrus looked between the three Deep Shadows watching him. Wraith, Albanion and Elza. Shadow, Poison and Wind.
Cyrus got an idea. The first thing he did was wait in the corner of the arena. Just as the golems were going to launch their attacks, Cyrus opened up a portal of shadows beneath them. Since he couldn't teleport HIMSELF, he decided to teleport the GOLEMS. They fell through the shadows, only to emerge from the ceiling on the other side of the arena. They fell through the portal and crashed into the ground, smashing part of their bodies.
While the golems were struggling to rise up, Cyrus charged at them with a blast of poison. The acidic magic ate away at the golems' stone bodies, causing their cracks to erode and split wider. And as a final part to the plan, Cyrus ran around the golems and unleashed a blast of wind magic. The smallest golem crashed into the medium one, who then smacked into the largest one. All three of the golems fell to pieces, the dark magic keeping them together dying away.
Wraith clapped his forepaws. "Wonderful work, Your Highness!"
Cyrus beamed in delight. He trotted forwards to the Deep Shadows with a swing in his tail. Albanion's lips tugged back at what was supposed to be a smile.
"You've done admirably well with your progress in Poison." Albanion nodded. "You'll be ready to start learning healing magic soon, I'm sure."
"Really?" Cyrus grinned.
"Not only that," Elza gave Cyrus a hug with her wing, "But your advancing further with your wind magic than I could have expected. Oh, your mother would be so proud!"
"Th-Thank you." Cyrus said as he accepted her hug. That was still a rather sore subject for him.
"Truly our prince is a real natural with the dark elements." Wraith said with a wave of his forepaw towards the remains of the golems Their rocks sank into more portals of darkness. Wraith turned back towards the others. "He's still got a long way, though."
"Let's not push him into doing nothing but advancing his studies." Albanion said.
"But don't you want him to reach his best potential?" Wraith countered.
As the two drakes got into a discussion on his magic, Cyrus did some thinking. Sure, the Deep Shadows were impressed with him, but there was one person he really wanted to make proud of him.
"I'm going to go show Dad what I can do!" Cyrus declared. He rushed for the gate before any of the three Deep Shadows knew what he was doing."
"No, Cyrus, wait!" Elza called. "Your father doesn't want to be disturbed right now!"
Cyrus ran through the engrossing hallways and corridors of his home, the fortress known as The Nexus. It was the last safe haven for all the dark dragons who didn't go into hiding as nomads throughout the dragon realms. To Cyrus, it was his third home; the first one he only knew of from his grandpa's old stories, and the second one he lost when he was six.
Cyrus rounded a corner and went down a long hallway towards a large set of double-doors. A pair of elderly dragons were seated on either side of the doors. They opened their eyes as the prince approached.
"What are you doing here, our prince?" The male asked.
"Uh, hi." Cyrus said awkwardly.
"Planning to speak to the king?" The female queried.
"Well..." The prince stepped back.
Both dragons stood up at the same time. The male was Argos and the female was Icarox. They were known as the Twins, a pair of priests who served the king directly. The Twins were identical in nearly every way. They were both very old and thin, with wrinkled grey scales. They wore plain robes over their wings. They each had eight thin horns and white manes that fell down to their necks.
Argos frowned at Cyrus. "You mustn't disturb your father, young prince. He's quite..."
"...Busy with studies of his own." Icarox said. The pair were psychically link, enabling them to finish thoughts for each other.
"But I want to show Father what I can do!" Cyrus protested. "I've finally gotten to an incredible point in my training!"
"Prince Cyrus," Icarox looked down her snout at him. "You need to understand that..."
"...Your father is a busy dragon." Argos said. "Come back another day."
"But I want to see him now!" Cyrus shouted. He ran forwards and pushed the doors open. The twins gasped.
"Prince, wait!" Argos shouted.
The king's study was illuminated by nothing but the fireplace at the end of the room. Shelves upon shelves of ancient tomes and scrolls lined both walls. And in the center of the room, in front of the fireplace, was a great wide desk. And behind that desk sat the black king as he wrote something down with a quill pen.
Cyrus took a single step forwards, his talons clattering on the hardwood floor. The king immediately stopped writing. He glanced up from his papers, his golden eyes glaring daggers into Cyrus. The young black dragon flinched and stepped away at first. But the king relaxed his glare when he saw who it was and resumed writing on his paper.
"H... Hi, Dad." Cyrus said sheepishly. He took a few awkward steps forwards towards the king. His father didn't even move from his throne when he spoke to him.
"What is it, Cyrus?" The king asked, his talons wracking against the desk. Cyrus always shuddered when the king spoke to him like that. "I'm busy."
"Well..." Cyrus gulped. "I finally learned how to use all the dark elements."
"Indeed." The king kept writing. He turned to look through a large tome for a moment, rumbling internally. "This formula is all wrong."
"Uh... Dad?" Cyrus stepped a little closer.
The king gave an exasperated sigh. "What do you want, Cyrus?"
"I was wondering if..." Cyrus shuddered. "If I could show you what I've learned from magic."
The king shut his eyes for a moment; presumably in thought. He then opened his eyes and shook his head no. "Not today. Maybe some other time."
"But..." Cyrus's lip trembled. "That's what you said last time. And the time before that..."
The king stopped writing. He inhaled deeply and blew out a gust of air. The king put down his quill and rose up from the desk. The king walked around the desk and approached Cyrus, making his intimidating presence easily known. The black king didn't have to be as muscular of Grail, for he was twice as threatening. Cyrus almost ran away in fear as the king approached, but the doors slammed themselves shut. Cyrus fell back onto his haunches as the king loomed over him.
"I have no time or patience for your silly games, Cyrus." The king snapped.
"But... I..." Cyrus's eyes started to water. "I've come very far. Can't I please show you?"
"No... means... NO." The king said with tranquil fury.
"But Dad..." Cyrus sniffed. "I just wanna... be like you..."
The king glared once again. He turned and stormed away from the prince to resume sitting at his desk.
"Cyrus, I can assure you that you will NEVER be like me." He picked up his quill pen and resumed writing. "Get back to your training."
Cyrus's heart ached like it never did before. His whole body trembled. "Dad...?"
"LEAVE." The king snarled.
Cyrus ran out of the king's study, a stream of tears falling from his eyes. The Twins gasped when they saw him crying down the hallway.
"Your Highness...?" Icarox asked worriedly.
Cyrus didn't stop running until he was finally back in his bedroom. It wasn't very large; it barely had room for his mattress and a desk. But Cyrus didn't care about that at the moment. He just locked his door and leaped onto his bed to cry.
Why is he so cold? Why doesn't he want me to be like him?! Aren't I a black dragon too?! Aren't I his son?! Cyrus turned over and whimpered. All he ever wants to do is work on that horrible plan of his. He never listens to me, or anybody! Why couldn't Mom still be alive?! She'd know what to do! If Mom were here, she could-"
Cyrus heard a knocking on his bedroom door. Wiping off his eyes, he got up from the bed and approached the door. When he opened it, a dragoness poked her head in and smiled down at him.
"Good afternoon, my prince." She bowed her head.
"Huh...?" Cyrus looked up and blinked. "Oh. H-Hello, Nerona."
Nerona was a shadow dragoness. She was also a Deep Shadow, and one of the king's closest assistants. Her hide was dark grey, and her underbelly was bronze. Her three horns were charcoal black. Her eyes and mane were a deep crimson color. She wore a set of silver bangles around her ankles, and a bronze necklace around her neck.
"What are you doing here, Nerona?" Cyrus asked as he backed up. Nerona strode into the room with a satchel on her back.
"I was just dropping by to bring you the assigned homework." She said.
Cyrus grimaced. "Homework? But... I'm not really..."
"No complaining, my prince." Nerona opened up her satchel and retrieved several tomes. "There's no harm in doing your required reading."
"But Nerona..." Cyrus couldn't come up with anything to say as Nerona arranged several large textbooks on his desk. She then turned around and walked out again.
"Be sure to start with the large one." She said on her way through the door. "I've marked a page for you to read and translate from ancient draconic into modern speech."
"Uh, but Nerona..." Cyrus was still wiping his eyes as Nerona closed the door. He looked between the door and the tomes. Things happened so fast, the books practically appeared on his desk like magic.
Unable to think of a real reason not to, Cyrus sat as his desk and opened the tome Nerona mentioned. A page was marked by a sheet of paper, upon which were runes that translated from ancient draconic to modern.
"What is this...?" Cyrus wondered. He set to work translating the first few words he read.
The more Cyrus translate, the more his eyes opened up. By the time he was finished with the page, something dawned on him. Something incredible.
"Revival... Ritual..."
And from there, Cyrus formulated a plan.
~~...~~
Greetings, friends and loved ones.
I'm going to be spending the weekend hanging out with some family I don't get to see very often. That include Sunday, so I wouldn't be able to update then. Since I don't like missing deadlines, I've decided to update this particular chapter a bit earlier than expected. But this doesn't change things: The final chapter of Act 1 is coming on the 11th. I hope you've all enjoyed the story so far.
Tenebra ecec Veritas